Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

Laffa spent a few moments savouring the thoughts.  A wide grin of satisfaction on his face.  "Excellent.  Well, my scaled friend....when a wizard starts to get powerful enough, they can tinker with things.....they loosen the bond of their soul on their body, create new bodies, bind items of importance to themselves. They can even begin to mess with magical aura's...making magical things appear not so....or mundane things appear magical. To a powerful wizard, the death of a body...though inconvenient....well.....all things I will never again be able to achieve...just glimpse...and know I can never have or be...."

Ketch Perception: 7

Ketch eyes up the sad wizard, and any others who are or have been nearby, to try to perceive if they're lying or deception going on here.  Possibly they have stolen the book or such?  "You can read my mind for the image you want, Sad Wizard, so long as I can break your face and see the image I want..."

Ketch Intimidation: 9

"Tell the little dragon what you know and be quick about it.  We do not wish to be here longer than absolutely necessary."

"Meepo lost book." Meepo says with a glance around at his friends. "Meepo no care about curse, or not-curse." He says, glancing to Ketch. "Meepo must find wizard spellbook. Nothing else matter Meepo." He turns from the sad mage and starts towards the door. "Meepo go back mountain castle..." He says.

Laffa looks with concern towards Ketch, and seems to be trying to figure out how to respond to the half-orc without further antagonizing him, but then Meepo begins talking about his lost spellbook and needing to return to the mountains immediately....

Mordekai steps forward, "So you're saying we did fight Zikran, and killed him, but his soul still lingers and intends to create or inhabit a new body? And we got his spellbook, but somehow his soul managed to steal it back? You got the curse lifted by a Wish, but never regained your power. You know of the crowns, you had the same vision? But you never found out anything further about the crowns or the vision? But you're telling us Zikran got the book from this Rillyn in a place called Crux, and you can tell us how to get there?" Mordekai nods toward Ketch as a reminder to Laffa of the cleric's threats, and continues "Let us suggest you do one better- you will take us there. On the way, you can continue to tell us absolutely everything else you can possibly think of that might be even remotely connected. And who knows, perhaps if you help us to defeat Zikran once and for all and remove this curse from Meepo, and gain Zikran's spellbook, you might even gain some power back yourself. 

Persuasion: 27

(Such an anticlimax when you type a big post, cumulating in a dice roll, then you click "post" to see the result, and you get "Dice rolls not yet available"!  Rolling a random d6 to give it a kick: 1

Ketch looks to Meepo.  “You knew the book well, can your amulet transport us to it?”

Meepo pauses at Ketch's words. "Amulet..." He says, his hands moving to touch it. "Yes, Meepo use amulet go mountain castle." He nods as he stops walking. His eyes are a bit wild as he glances to the others. "Meepo must find lost book..." He says again. "Only then find lost crown."

Lionel raised a brow. "I do not understand much in magic, but would the genie get free if the wizard would not be truly dead? And with his book... If that and his new ... body? are somewhere else, and we did not find any clues about that location in the castle, not sure the return would help in any way. This is like a search for some lich's filactery - can be anything and anywhere."

Laffa looks about at the group as the kobold seems in near panic, while Mordekai peppers him with questions and Ketch and Lionel speak as well.  He seems a bit overwhelmed and waves his hands about, squinting in discomfort and then rubbing his face once more.  "Uggg...I could really use a drink...."  He takes a deep breath, "Ok, ok ok, hold on...let me see if I can explain better."  He puts his hands out, as if centering himself, and then speaks in a slow deliberate way, "I'll go backwards, last questions first.  Um, so, I don't know the conditions of Zikran's spell on his stupid genie book, but...if he had to die to break the charm then....him being killed, but then his soul zipping to a new body he had waiting somewhere could certainly qualify as the condition of 'dying'.  You do technically die I suppose."  He shrugs, "And has for his new body, he woulda had that sitting in stasis in a very secure location. I can't even guess where. But, it won't just be at the last place you found him. You're right, it really is sorta like a Liche....though...at most he would have kept it on a demi-plane close to that prime world. That doens't really help you though."   Then he turns to Meepo and takes a breath, about to answer questions.....then realizes....the kobold doesn't actually have any, and so he shakes his head in annoyance and turns to Ketch, pointing at him briefly as if 'checking him off his list', and then turns to Mordekai. "Alright, alright, lemme see if I can answer your questions. Uh...ya, his soul probably went into a new body he had waiting somewhere. You don't want your soul lingering. That's a bad situation. And we're all talkin about his spell book here right. That's different than the cursed book known as the Scrivener's Tale.  So, about Zikran's spell book, there is magic you can weave to...tie things to you, so that if you lose them or if they're stolen, you can summon them back to you. Any good wizard does that on their spell book, if they can. The curse that your kobold is suffering from is a DIFFERENT book....that book isn't a spell book, it's ancient, and its called the Scrivener's Tale. Just makin sure you know that. So...then...about the curse and the Scrivener's tale. I assume your kobold friend here still has that book."  Meepo confirms he still has it. Ulthan can be heard muttering something about "too many books" and "confusing" and "thats why i no read books".  Laffa continues, "Yes...I managed to lift the curse from me using a wish. But...the curse is so powerful that even the wish couldn't make me whole again after. The curse took most of my magical talent with it...leaving me....a magical cripple.  I had the same visions, but I didn't research into the crowns, cause...like I said, I had a way to get a wish done. Though if I'd known the cost to me, I woulda looked more into them maybe. And as for Rillyn and Crux...yes..exactly."

He glances to Ketch and back to Mordekai. He stares at the floor deep in thought, depression seeping around him. Then he looks up at Mordekai, almost....inspired?  "Fine, I'll come to Crux with you, show you the way. I ain't got more information to share though, but...who knows. But, the curse isn't Zikran's. He just got the Scrivener's Tale and.....left it in his store room as a trap for any fool like me or you who came along. He acquired the cursed book, but that curse is ancient, and has nothin to do with Zikran.  Killing that wizard will make me happy...but it won't bring my magic back. If you somehow manage to end the curse here on your little friend though....maybe....maybe there's hope for me.  Fine.  I'll go." 

"Good. Now you're seeing sense. One final question though. Any idea where the bugs come into all this?"

Lionel gave Meepo a long sorrowful look and said softly. "Meepo, whatever spells were in that wizard's book, it is not worth looking for if the price is your life. We have to stop the curse first. Let us go to Crux and at least try to fix it. When you are whole again - we can search for Zikran again should you wish to."

"We likely have enough funds to buy whatever spells you lost with the book..." Ketch points out.  "As for Zikran, he may just come looking for us if he's truly not dead."

Laffa looks confused at Mordekai, "Um, pardon?  What bugs?"  He glances down on the floor, seeing a cockroach crawl across it.  He slams his foot down onto it. "Oh, the bugs aren't related to the curse. This place is just a filthy crap hole."  Once again, the man behind bar gives him a "dude!? seriously?!" sorta look and response. 

"Spells?" Meepo asks, completely confused. "Meepo not care about spells." He shakes his head. Don't these Bigs understand... "Meepo lost book." He says, trying to explain. "Meepo job find lost things, but Meepo lost book." He looks around at the others. "Meepo must find book, but Meepo wait do if Meepo friends think best."

"Meepo, quite the opposite. It's not lost. What Laffa here is suggesting is that Zikran is still alive and the spellbook has returned to him. So when he was dead, it had no owner, and you found it a home in your bag. But the reason it's not in your bag any more is because, as much as I dislike saying it, it's taken itself home to its original owner."

(I think Mordekai should make a persuasion check for Meepo. Is that ok DM? Meepo could likely be talked into what Mordekai is suggesting, but it is not as simple as just being told this sort of thing, not about lost things with Meepo.)

Probably with advantage (from Help) for everyone present says it too?

Very happy to roll persuasion (I'm assuming still with advantage from Quinn anyway): 21

Meepo frowns, figits from foot to foot, then gives a sigh. "Meepo suppose Mordekai right." He gives a more decisive nod. "Yes, Mordekai right. Book found owner back." He squares his shoulder and looks around at the group. "Meepo no heard what plan. Sad wizard come with? Where Meepo friends wish go?" He pulls the amulet out of his tunic and holds it in his hand as he glances around. "Meepo ready go when Meepo friends say..."

Indeed, everyone around the conversation seemed thoroughly convinced by Mordekai. It was as if he was exuding the truth of the matter, expressing it as perfectly as could be, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that he was just explaining, matter of factly, the truth of the situation. For his friends, they were used to Mordekai being inspiring, and convincing, but this seemed somehow on another level. 

Then, exhausting, Quinn sighs heavily to Mordekai, and chitters happily, "Barely lies. Quinn prefer more lies. Quinn tired now. Quinn help some more when rested."  (You can make use of Quinn's "help" with all charisma checks for 10 minute periods, once per long rest.) 

Laffa watches as all this happens, and ultimately secures him into having to leave the bar.  He quickly drinks down the last of a beer, then looks to the bar keep, "Uh...can I get one, in a to-go cup please?"  Meanwhile, Meepo pulls out his amulet and looks at it, "Where friends want to go?"  Laffa looks to the amulet, then to Meepo, then around at the group.  "Whaa....hold on hold on hold on! Stop! If...if that's an amulet of the planes, do NOT use it in Sigil. Are you guys complete newbs to this place or something? You try that and you'll end up some place the Lady feels like sending you, in order to teach you a lesson...someplace in Sigil. You can't travel in or out of Sigil by any means other than a portal. Even GODS can't get in here. No no, look, I know a portal from Sigil to Ranais. Then we bounce from there to Crux through a portal that goes from Ranais to Crux. It's a known portal, there are fees, but it's a heck of a lot better than ending up in some Hive pit full of demons. Ok? Just..lemme get a beverage for the road, then I'll take you....oh, and I need to stop at home to grab a backpack and some other crap..."